What’s On Your Louisiana Ballot: 2018 Amendment 1

We are getting very close to this November's elections. Voting day is Tuesday November 6th, and early voting has already begun.

Since we're so close, we thought it would be a great chance to further explore some of what you'll see on this year's ballot. There are 6 proposed Constitutional Amendments in Louisiana this year.

The first one, Act 719 (or Proposition 1) is about allowing felons to seek office. Here's the text you'll see on your ballot:

“Do you support an amendment to prohibit a convicted felon from seeking or holding public office or appointment within five years of completion of his sentence unless he is pardoned?”

So what does that mean? Here's the full text from the proposal:

Proposed Constitutional Amendment provides that the following persons shall not be permitted to qualify as a candidate for elective public office or hold elective public office or appointment of honor, trust, or profit in this State: 1) a person who is actually under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony; or 2) a person who has been convicted within Louisiana of a felony and who has exhausted all legal remedies, or who has been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or of any foreign government or country of a crime which, if committed in Louisiana, would be a felony and who has exhausted all legal remedies and has not been pardoned either by the governor of Louisiana or by the officer of the state, nation, government, or country having such authority to pardon in the place where the person was convicted and sentenced.

Proposed Constitutional Amendment provides an exception and shall not prohibit a person convicted of a felony from qualifying as a candidate for elective public office or holding such elective public office or appointment of honor, trust, or profit if more than five years have elapsed since the completion of his original sentence for the conviction.

Proposed Constitutional Amendment relating to felony convictions shall not prohibit a person from being employed by the state or a political subdivision.

So what does all of that mean for you?

A vote YES on this Amendment would be in favor of establishing a law to stop felons from holding elected or appointed positions "of honor, trust, or profit in this state" for at least 5 years (including probation and/or parole) after their sentence has been completed.